We had a lad once who paid another fella to take over at the silage for him while he went to our league game. We were picking the team and when it came to yer man, we all agreed he had to start given such a ferocious commitment for the cause. He was stone useless in the game (bolloxed tired tbf), but couldnt be taken off til the second half at least for the same reason.
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Youâve imagined an awful lot there, with most of it being well off the mark
Heâs also seems to forget that inter county players in college care more about their playing career than the course they are doing (for the most part).
Is the GAA the only sport where itâs fiercest supporters have, since time immemorial, constantly speculated on it being finished and lads not wanting to play it anymore.
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And we lost the match as well 
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Thatâs more of a recent development with back doors and endless round robin matches. The disastrous round robin system effectively saw the start of the hurling championship moved to early May. I was talking to a Waterford inter-county player over Christmas about the then proposed change of calendar. He was making the point to me that when Waterford reached the All Ireland Final in 2017 (the last year before the introduction of the round robin), Waterford opened their Championship campaign on 18 June 2017.
As an aside, he also made the point to me that the peculiarities of the winter championship in 2020 worked quite well in Waterford. Theyâve struggled over the years with so many players living and working outside of the county and with a high college going demographic of players. With lockdown and work and college more of less all remote, players were all back living in the county during the 2020 Championship, management had unfettered access and they were effectively in training camp for nearly 4 months.
Lads better get used to this because itâs here to stay. The inter county tail was wagging the GAA dog for too long. Club players training from January to peak for 1 or 2 matches in April and then in limbo until the autumn when they had to try to peak again. Often relegation and promotion play offs in Nov and December before starting training again in January. It was fucking madness and it was a disgrace it was allowed go on so long.
Fellas whingeing about September All Ireland wins shortening their winter have little to be worrying about.
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They should go out and get involved in their own clubs and theyâll be kept busy all year if they want.
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I think people are right to be concerned about the chopping and changing of the GAA Calendar since 2017. Itâs not just playing All Ireland Finals in July.
Back in 2017 you had 10,000 people at a Minor game between Tipp and Cork on a Wednesday night. You had genuine superstars like Con OâCallaghan and Cian Lynch playing Under 21.
Since 2017, we have seen the end of the Fitzgibbon/Sigerson weekend (a great tradition), the complete dumbing down of Minor/Under 20 Championships and introduction of nonsense Round Robin/Super 8 activities.
Meanwhile standards are falling off a cliff nationally. By the time the 2021 Championship rolls around there wonât be a hurler of note under the age of 23 bar Kyle Hayes.
Tipp are like Dads army with all their 30 somethings, Corks best player is 33, most of Galways better players are around or over 30 and poor old Kilkenny are depending on Reid and Hogan to compete who have been around forever. Clare have been a shambles underage for a while now.
You are left with Limerick and their half rugby league/half hurling team who have a good age profile between 24-28 and they are totally dominant. Waterford are next best placed in the age profile department and it showed last year.
All these changes to the calendar seem to be focused on Burn out which I donât agree with at all. Tony Kelly, Joe Canning, Noel McGrath etc played as much as anyone from 16-21 and they are still among the top players in the country.
I was watching some of the under 20 action pre Christmas and it was hopeless stuff altogether. Young lads might have nice biceps and 6 packs from their S&C programmes but actual hurling standards are miles behind where it was at underage even 5 years ago.
Worrying times ahead.
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Holy fuck
It was a ridiculous decision to change Minor and U21 to U17 and U20. The standard is lower and the interest isnât as high. Players doing the leaving cert are still affected as many strong 18/19 year olds would be on the county U20 team anyway. Those who donât do TY could still be U17 during the LC so it hasnât made much difference there. Counties are also having to wait too long now for minor prodigies to progress through the ranks.
As an aside, I hope the provincial and All-Ireland club championships arenât being shafted in this new schedule?
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As well as the fact that itâs the only popular sport thatâs totally amateur its a post colonial insecurity thing. Were constantly talking about changing rules and the structures of the competition too. See also the obsession among pundits with the âqualityâ of each particular game too. Always the first thing discussed and has been since I can remember. It wouldnât be the main topic of conversation after a big champions league game among the barca socios. âbad aul game juanâ âterrible standard alberto very hard to look atâ. The panic about Dublinâs dominance is the same thing. Never confident that it will right itself or that itâs cyclical like in other sports just âfuck them out rip up the whole competition structure I knew this would happenâ
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I hope not.
Iâd be a traditionalist and would have liked to see them stay on St. Patrickâs Day.
Club players in the position were delighted to enjoy Christmas then to train away from January until March.
It was Inter County Managers who wanted some of their stars available for mickey mouse National League games that caused the issue.
Most sports the world over are traditionalist when it comes to the calendar, when the big sport events locked into the calendar and immovable. All Ireland Finals for over a century were all to mid September and thatâs the way it should be. You cut down on the number of pointless matches in the Championship, endless round and Super 8âs, start the championship in mid to late June, cut out those pre-season tournaments in the depths of winter.
I felt the hurling championship as it was constituted 2002-17 and again by necessity in 2020 worked reasonably well. Probably more by accident then design. Nearly all counties were guaranteed three championship games. Could have ran it off quicker alright, like they did in 2020. Again, Martin Breheny types constantly agitating for tinkering with structures and formats.
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If recent years are anything to go by we get our best weather in May and June. Having IC hurling in these months should produce better hurling, faster hurling. Anything that helps stamp out the football tactics being incorporated by certain counties is to be welcomed
Some of the biggest whinging about the club All-Irelands being played on Patrickâs Day came from the likes of Corofin, clubs who were getting to them regularly. There was a great contrast between Gweedore and Corofin a couple of years back, Gweedore had won their first Ulster and had a Christmas of celebrating that and enjoying the excitement of an All-Ireland semi-final coming up, Corofin lads were complaining that they had to train for another 3 months. Its impossible to please everyone, but given the choice Iâd rather the calendar suited clubs like Gweedore rather than Corofin
Clubs who got there regularly realised the strain it was. Clubs who made it once in a blue moon were giddy as fuck and couldnt give a shite.
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That was it but who do you cater for with the calendar? The clubs who got there rarely didnât want it rushed, let them enjoy their provincial before having to play the semifinal. Was a great chance to raise a few quid for clubs then too, even the ones winning junior provincials.
Clubs who got there regularly, got tired of one season running into another.
No harm for the season as a whole to be condensed by a few months, for club and county
Iâd prefer the club All-Ireland kept the traditional dates. I won a provincial at junior and intermediate, was a huge deal and great excitement for the Christmas. You would nearly always pick up an injury or 2 as well on the winter pitches in cold weather, no problem for Corofin who have plenty of lads to step in but can be a killer for a smaller club if they have to play 3 games in a month.
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